Winter ideas

Winter’s lovely but it can really put a chill in your bones. Luckily, we’ve gathered together some places where you can warm up and restore that rosy-cheeked good cheer.

Warming whisky tastings, a hot soak in a steamy spa or settling down around an open fire in a cosy pub: we’ve plenty of ideas to keep you feeling toasty.

Hot spas

Get out of the cold and into the wonderful warmth of a nice hot spa. Some of Britain’s best known include
Thermae Bath Spa
— the only natural hot spring in the UK — where you can enjoy a hot soak and look out over Bath’s historic buildings. Alternatively, grab a towel and admire the decorated Turkish-style tiles of Harrogate’s
Victorian bath house
beneath your bare feet as you make for the sauna.

Tropical greenhouses

If tropical plants are growing there, chances are it’s nice and warm: the
Eden Project
in Cornwall is one such hotspot. It houses the largest rainforest in captivity and it’s a green maze of jungle, crashing waterfalls and spectacular plants all growing beneath its giant geodesic domes. Most certainly a warm, tropical place to explore in the depths of winter. Up in London, you can linger among the palms in
Kew Garden’s
steamy Victorian Palm House, or get cosy in its rainforest area.

Winter dance festivals

Get your dancing shoes on and head to a winter festival. If you like the sound of ceilidhs (traditional Scottish dance parties pronounced “kaylees”) and traditional music, head to Glasgow’s
Celtic Connections
festival in early January for some lively dancing, duelling fiddles and the thump of hands on drums.

Cosy pubs

Provided it hasn’t been taken by a resident dog or cat, you should be able to find some premium space by the fireside in one of Britain’s traditional pubs. The
Kirkstile Inn
up in The Lake District is a classic country pub with log fires, old oak beams, hearty food and tasty beers, with plenty of rooms if you want to make a weekend of it. Down in Rye, the 12th-century
Mermaid Inn
— once popular among smugglers — has two huge lounges warmed by roaring fires, centuries of history and plenty of delicious food and drink.

Food market

While winter food markets do tend to be outside, they also tend to sell plenty of hot mulled wine, warmed country cider and lots of delicious hot snacks to keep you warm.
Borough Market
in London in one of the best known, while
Christkindelmarkt
up in Leeds is an authentic German Christmas market – be sure to try some stollen.

Fire festivals

While we don’t recommend getting too close to anything that’s actually on fire, for obvious reasons, there are a number of fire-based winter events across Britain that might throw some stray warmth your way. Up in the Shetland Isles in January,
Up Helly Aa
is a great fiery Viking celebration with torch-lit processions that culminates in the burning of a Viking longship. Or, down in Northumberland, stand back as brave townsfolk
run past carrying burning barrels of tar
on their backs to see in the New Year.

Curry restaurants

If you ever needed an excuse to go for curry, keeping warm could be it. Britain has some of the best South Asian food in the world. Tuck into delicious spicy food at some of the UK’s premier curry hotspots, from
Brick Lane
and
Tayyabs
in London to the neon-lit eateries of Manchester’s Curry Mile.

Cooking courses

Hole up in a kitchen this winter and indulge in a seasonal cookery course, from masterclasses on the perfect Christmas dinner to hand making chocolates.
Ashburton Cookery
school in Devon is one of the best known, with
Pudding Pie
in Banbury another tasty-sounding spot to learn kitchen-based wisdom.

Whisky tastings

A dram of whisky can’t fail to restore some much needed warmth on a chilly evening. If you’d like to discover the many different types available – to research which is the most warming, naturally – you’ll find plenty of distilleries in Scotland. Try the
Scotch Whisky Experience
in Edinburgh to get a range of tastes, or head for your favourite single malt’s headquarters.
Glen Moray
and
Glen Morangie
are two of our favourites.